A flood in an alluvial valley is two-faced. It is always a threat when it is more severe than usual. But when well synchronized with the cycles of agriculture, the flood can be used to fertilize and water the soil before plowing and planting. This is the case with the
Figure 1.4 The deity “Nile” (Hapy), God of nourishment worshipped during the flood (note its full breasts), temple of Philae at Aswan (photo by the author).
summer flood of the Nile, which extends from June through August. The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, on the other hand, flood in the spring (March through June), which coincides with the ripening of grains. Therefore in these regions, it is essential to complete the harvest before the flood — whose early arrival is always possible — can wash out the crops, especially from unprotected lands. In stark contrast to the hymns that laud the floods of the Nile, one can see a sense of urgency in a letter from a senior officer of the kingdom of Mari, located on the middle course of the Euphrates just downstream of the Neolithic site of Bouqras (see the map of Figure 2.1), written in about 1800 BC. The letter pleads to the king for help in completing the harvest before the early flood arrives: “My Lord: this is Kibri-Dagan, your servant. I realized that the river was in flood. It is worsening for three days I have undertaken to harvest the palace grain. But, the river is in flood. [….]. The remaining grain in my district exceeds my strength. If my Lord agrees, it is necessary to obtain help from Dumtan, Zurubban, and Hishamta (three villages in the region).
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These workers must set out now for the water is already into the fields of Zurubban.”
The following letter from the same official shows the need to mobilize significant manpower to prevent flood damage:
“The Khabur (a tributary of the Euphrates) has flooded and Yaqqim-Addu sent me a message asking for help. I have called upon the people of Terqa (the city of which the author is the governor) and the people of my own district and I hastened to the aid of the flood gates
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